TomTom 920 vs. Panasonic Strada

[marktchin]

Has anyone purchased Panasonic Strada Model CN-GP50U which has a 5 in screen? How would you compare TomTom 920 vs. Panasonic Strada?

Thanks!

 

[Spyder]

Coming soon, but prelim reports not good.

I can let you know next week as mine is scheduled to arrive JAN 3. Reports from one user basically said it was "crap". Seems it runs watered down Navigon software - no mp3 player, no BT, no FM xmtr, no Reality view, etc. Sound quality was complained about and this coming from a Panasonic device. We shall see.

 

[dcourteau]

the unit itself really have a sweet look tho..

 

[theorangeman]

I can let you know next week as mine is scheduled to arrive JAN 3. Reports from one user basically said it was "crap". Seems it runs watered down Navigon software - no mp3 player, no BT, no FM xmtr, no Reality view, etc. Sound quality was complained about and this coming from a Panasonic device. We shall see.

Hmmmm.... it does "look" very nice, especially with a 5" screen. I think I might want to learn more about this device before plunking down my wallet on the 920.

Spyder - I'll definitely be looking forward to your review after you get an opportunity to try it out for a while. The negatives you list don't seem like too big of a deal to me, with the exception of no bluetooth. Not having BT might be enough to keep me from purchasing the unit. As for the reality view, what is that?

 

[Spyder]

Reality View is a gimmick Navigon has added to several of their GPS units - maybe all of them. It is just a static picture (actually a good visualization) that comes up at interstate intersections or maybe other instersections where there are a lot of choices - multilane splits, multiple interstate junction, etc. It is purported to show the actual signs and will have arrows directing you to proper lane placement for your route. I only saw it come up once or twice and it was OK. Some don't like it as it covers up the route progress for a short time, but many do not know it can be turned off with one screen tap. Check out a Navigon 7100 and you can see an example.

Navigon does offer free TMC traffic reporting and it does work. My area is not covered well for traffic reporting area, but surprising I did see some traffic alerts.

JIM

 

[marktchin]

Thanks!

Thanks for your info.

I think it has bluetooth.

 

[zerimar]

There are two models here in Europe, CN-GP50N and CN-GP50TC, the TC model has the same features as the TT920T. German reviews put the TC as excellent, Car & HiFi magazine rated it as the winner.

I played with the TT920T, Nuvi760 and GP50TC model in one of the shops to compare and my first impression was that it is indeed a strong contender. I like the 5" screen which was very readable even with the strong lights in the shop. Garmin was the best in readability and the TT was for me the worst. The GUI is very simple. TT's are also simple but some related functions are scattered in other menus or sub-menus. Mind you, I've been using TT (Nav 5 and 6, and now a 910) for several years now. There were a few times that it took some time for the option selected to pop-up/display (I guess this is a Windows sickness as I had it too with Nav5 or 6 in my WM5 PDA). Price was CHF100 more than the TT but CHF100 less than the Nuvi. In my opinion, the only plus factor the TT has is that it has both EU and NA maps bundled. But this would benefit people (like me) who travel a lot in both continents for work or fun.

 

[zerimar]

I forgot to put the link to the leaflet. On page 7 there is a comparison chart. http://produkte.panasonic.de/doc/Leaflet/Strada-Prospekt.pdf. If anyone needs help in translation, let me know.

 

[infama]

Zerimar,

what about POIs?

Does the Strada have Mapshare, EPT, itinerary planning, FM transmitter, A-GPS, etc? How fast is its recalculating?

I think that there are more TT advantages than just extra continental maps! Not sure why I would want to pay 100chf more for just a slightly bigger screen and nothing else.

 

[mhuebner]

I am a newbie here. I have both the 920 and the Strada. In my opinion they are comparable. Obviously the bigger screen is a plus. The Strada does not have the FM transmitter which is a drawback, but I cant even get it working on my 920. For some reason, I think the interface of the TT sucks. The Strada has a really nice one in my opinion. The Strada does not have any toys built in like MP3 player which is key. The only thing the Strada has is a picture viewer but it totally distorts the picture and its worthless. The Strada keeps their maps on sd card instead of internal memory like TT. What this does for TT is you can keep music and pictures always inside the TT and view or listen at anytime. If you want to view pictures on the Strada, then you have to take out the factory sd card and put in your own which sucks. The Strada also has 1.8 million POI to TT maybe 4 or 5 million. It seems like a big difference, but when I look at the optional POI for TT, to me, about 75 percent of them are a waste. To me, the one I may end up getting at the end is the Garmin 770. I know its a little more expensive and lacking the voice input address like TT, but from what I hear is better than both.

 

[infama]

The 770 is a LOT more expensive...$300 or more.

 

[marktchin]

Will return Strada....

I received Panasonic Strada yesterday from costco.com. I don't like it. You can't compare to TT920. Only good thing is the screen and suction device. But, the processor is very slow; cell gets disconnected when you turn off GPS and has to connect it again; mic and speaker are not as good as TT920; info letters are too small to read, and difficult to use POI.

Well... It's one person's opinion, but I don't like Strada.